"ENOUGH!!"
Curiosity almost killed me today... I thought it was only supposed to be a figure of speech... what a monster.
"Is she doubting me, or is it something I said...,"
"She's fine, she's fine... She's just, uh...,"
No, I need to put more authority in that, enough to show that big baby who's in control.
"..."
"..."
"?"
"... Anyway, it looks like...,"
"...they're taking more time than we expected."
"...we're taking more time than we expected," Anu said to himself as the wailing figures in red below slowly clung onto each other, trying to tower themselves towards the two figures clearly out of reach. Streams of golden tears cascaded down their battered faces mixing up with the red gruel around them.
"How she's able to deal with this, is beyond me, and I'm a literal...,"
"UUUOOHHH!! "
"Nope, that's not the word, the word you're looking for is..."
A burst of light erupted from Park's abdomen,
"Is he done already?"
the many strands of light, just as anticipated by Anu to be the window of another spectacle to occur, did just as so. His golden eyes looked on in awe, as the white lines became alive, thrashing in a crazed way before piercing through each of the damned in astonishing speed and accuracy to boot. The wide expanse that the scarlet beings had covered and all the golden goodness that they were producing were now ready for the next step.
Out sprang forth series of straps that pulled the skewered beings into the white "vines", each of the many vines in the field absorbed and fed Park leaving not even a crumb behind. They cleaned the entire field, fully relishing in the somber taste of the meal that they were feeding on. Once they were done, one by one, they retreated back in, happy of the fill they had just received, with a final strand caressing Anu's cheek, within its stem, a confined globule of gold in it.
"..."
Something tells me I should definitely report that. Maybe harassment or something else.
The deity lowered himself and his friend towards the barren ground, his clawed foot settling gently upon a tiny patch of soil.
"... funny...,"
"You good?"
<...>
"Hello...?" His head glitched past the message interface, face against his, his golden eyes peered into Park's as if they were asking something in him. Park gently pushed Anu back, reciprocating that he was well and was back from his small vacation. He lowered himself to the ground and felt the texture of the soil around him. The fineness and smooth texture of it slightly took him aback, the wetness that the gruel had blessed the ground beneath it with was gone.
"Those friends of yours look like they had not been fed for a long time."
"... where are we?"
"I think she called it the Golden Cradle, but I think Sands under the Red Sun would be better."
"Gretsa did- Wait does she know this place?"
"Hehehe, yeah. I really hope my gamble worked. Don't want the next people to land on my table to be... Wait for me!"
He knows where the exit is? Fascinating!
Park hurriedly walked over to the thin, red slit and reached in, Anu following closely behind him.
"Should we call for help?"
"What's wrong with him...?"
The rock behind Ripha rippled, startling him,
"AHHHH, GHOST!!!"
"... Ow."
Two out of three were able to flee from Ripha's usual with the unlucky third being the "Ghost's" hand. Ripha could only mutter a small apology to the "Ghost" as the rest of him followed through, the prankster right behind him.
[Newly obtained skills are working in tandem to repair the injury, but the repair duration will be increased as there is a remodelling happening to the First Law of the ----- Print.]
"Looks like my gamble worked...", "... I think?"
The needles sticking out of his hand were beckoned within, swallowed up by the flesh around them. He could feel them traveling up his hand and disappear slowly but surely,
"It's gone."
"Yeah, you keep on amazing me the longer we are together."
"Uh..."
"We should also get out of here before that green thing sees us here even if she actually knows where we are,"
"Huddle up everyone, time to go!"
Dark brown clouds instantly appeared around them at the snap of a finger. They couldn't tug themselves free and,
* Thud! *
"What the...?"
Lily's fast reflexes could not save her in time as she crashed into the ruby red wall. She walked over to the glassy barrier and tapped at it with her claw. She could not phase through as she was always able to. Gionne could sense the uneasiness,
"What have you done to us?"
"Curiosity, curiosity, curiosity, I just wanted to make sure nothing goes wrong once we start moving, that's all. You know moving during teleportation could lead to certain, let's say, life-threatening mistakes and I wouldn't want that for any of you."
"But must it also..."
"The magic thing is also a necessary on my end," Anu interjected Gionne's argument.
"Now then," the clouds brought them close to the caster and with a second snap of his fingers, "Hold tight!" they vanished in a beam of golden light.
"... how did I get in the middle of all this?"
"... make sure you tell them what I told you or I'll personally put you in charge of mating season, and I know you've heard the stories from your friends."
"..."
"Have a wonderful day."
"WHAT'S EVEN WONDERFUL ABOUT THE DAY ANYMORE!- Huh?"
"What's with everyone wanting to shout today?"
"...Oh, it's you guys."
Through the cooler's dark glasses, a brief flash of light filled its view before the four appeared into being, although, with some few adjustments,
"..."
"Oh right! Anyone dropped by while we were gone?"
"...what's with the...?"
"Mine first. Yours second."
"... sure. Gretsa dropped by, saying that she wanted to see what things you were up to down there,"
"Ah, so she knew."
You clearly muttered it down there...
You clearly muttered it down there...
???
"Did she say anything else?"
He looked disturbed but weakly braved on. The eyes darted across his arm.
"Please don't, it will hurt me more than it will hurt you. But I'll say that she threatened me, something that she would do to me if I didn't get the message across to you, I'm even lucky that I was able to see you this soon."
"We must have ticked her off if she has you rambling on like this. Anyway, thank you, your work has been done, you won't have to worry about mating..."
"!"
"Oops! Carrying on swiftly,"
He turned around to the people behind him, "Angry and scared, I'll have to beam you back home and only be left with weird, all good?"
"..."
"Silence means yes. But just before you go," from his robe, he fished out his book and scribbled down a few pieces of writing before folding the pieces of paper nicely and tucking them in safely within their pockets.
"I do feel bad for a number of things that I've done to you today," he pocketed his book back within his robe, "so I hope that that will be an enough apology from me to you, I hope they help you. In fights or wherever,"
"?"
"See you later."
* Whoosh! *
"..."
"Okay then! I think we'll go to the first ward!"
The door swung open.
"Do you think something amazing happened down there?"
Ella asked in her usual bashful tone.
"If it did, all the better, I could now have all the time in the world to do things I couldn't have done before,"
"Even if we have..."
"Even if we have that."
"..."
"I think I hear them coming, JUST WAIT FOR ME IN THE FIRST WARD, I'LL BE RIGHT THERE!"
"She won't kill us, right?"
"Nothing to be worried about in fact I don't think YOU should even be saying anything like that,"
"I, think it's valid to ask."
"You want to help out?"
Park could hear their conversations beyond the door separating the reception and the hallway.
"Yeah, I mean since we got a huge serving today, I should help you dish it out to our guests,"
Serving? Guests?
"Do you see now what I was saying about this place being more dead than alive?"
"I guess?"
I'm still not seeing anything...
"Can't keep our guests waiting then,"
"Can't keep them waiting then."
The clouds around him trembled a little,
"I'll only get rid of them once you're safe. Also, sorry I squeezed you a bit back there,"
"Do you see now what I was saying about this place-" Ouch, "- being more dead than alive?"
"... It's okay."
When Park shifted his gaze back to peering beyond the circular windows, he almost jumped out of his skin,
"Knock, knock..."